British Airways Pilot Left Cockpit Door Open So His Family Could See Him At The Controls… And He’s Still Allowed To Fly

A British Airways pilot operating an international flight to New York JFK allegedly left the cockpit door open during takeoff so his family members who were passengers on the packed plane could watch him at the controls.

Sources told The Sun that the cockpit door remained open for a “significant” amount of time after takeoff and that other passengers were aware that the door had not been locked shut as is required.

Following the horrors of 9/11, airlines were required to install cockpit doors that are bullet and bomb proof. The door must be shut and locked as soon as the plane pushes back from the gate, and it can only be opened for very short periods to allow pilots to use the bathroom or stretch their legs.

The incident occurred on British Airways flight BA173, which departed London Heathrow at around 12:00 pm on August 6. The flight was operated by a Boeing 777-300 with capacity for 256 passengers.

The cabin crew on the seven and a half hour flight were left so disturbed by what happened that they immediately reported the incident to British Airways management once the plane landed in New York.

British Airways was forced to suspend the pilot while he was still in New York, meaning that the return flight he was meant to work on, leaving JFK on the night of August 7, had to be cancelled.

According to The Sun, the airline quickly determined that there had been no security threat, and the pilot had already been returned to active duties.

In a statement, a spokesperson for British Airways told the newspaper: “Safety and security is our top priority.”

In the United States, airlines are now being required to install a second cockpit door on all new airplanes because of the potential risk that terrorists could strike during the short periods when the primary door is opened during a flight.

Technically known as an ‘Installed Physical Secondary Barrier’ or IPSB for short, the second door sits between the forward galley and the primary bulletproof cockpit door.

Instead of using service carts to block access to the cockpit as many US airlines currently do, the IPSB would be closed and locked for the short amount of time that the primary cockpit door has to be open.

The IPSB is not bullet or bomb proof and is a relatively lightweight device that is only designed to hold back an intruder for the few seconds that the cockpit door is open.

Aviation unions had been campaigning for IPSB’s ever since the 9/11 attacks, but it wasn’t until 2018 that lawmakers approved the mandatory deployment of these devices in an FAA Authorization Act.

Despite being signed into law, the FAA rule required to make them a reality took years to be written. In 2023, however, the FAA finally published the final rule, giving US airlines two years to install the barriers on new aircraft.

Although new aircraft are now being delivered with IPSBs, last month, the US aviation industry won a one-year extension for when they actually have to start being used.

Matt’s Take

If this incident happened as reported, then this seems like an incredibly irresponsible move from the pilot involved. It’s probably worth mentioning that European airlines have slightly different rules around securing the cockpit door during a flight, but there doesn’t seem to be any excuse for this.

There’s something quite different from allowing passengers and family members to see the cockpit before takeoff, but 9/11 forever ended the possibility of passengers peeking inside the flight deck after departure.